Brookings pastor Kline: As ICE’s outrageous behavior continues, more and more Americans are taking a stand against it
Editor’s note: This piece was submitted before ICE agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. That event makes Kline’s remarks all the more compelling.
Over 200 people stood on and near the steps of the Brookings Post Office this past Friday evening. They stood for half an hour, in silence with candles, in memory of Renee Nicole Good, killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
Her death is a reminder that ICE agents are authorized to carry weapons, and they will use them. They are given that authority by the federal government, even when local communities and mayors like Jacob Frey in Minneapolis and governors like Tim Walz in Minnesota ask for them to leave. ICE continues to be present in large numbers in Minnesota and the Twin Cities, adding to their numbers during the time of the killing.
They are increasingly spreading terror throughout the whole country, as administration officials justify the killing of Renee Good and suggest new tactics to spread even greater terror, with Vice President JD Vance’s suggestion of a “door to door” offensive.
We are moving very quickly as a people from any notion of “local” control or “democratic” governance. There is a higher authority in the United States these days that is making all the crucial decisions for us. We are expected to be good citizens and follow the leader, whether in round-ups of our neighbors or new wars in our hemisphere.
But at the same time, the resistance is growing. It was truly heartening to see children from the Kenny Community School in Minneapolis marching in protest of the ICE operation where Renee Good was killed. One of their signs especially caught my eye. It read, “Love Melts ICE.”
These young people are aware their classes are smaller and absenteeism is climbing. They know some of their classmates are afraid to come to school. They understand why classes were canceled in several city districts because of ICE activity. They are representative of a whole new generation of young people, who are being awakened to the challenges of keeping and maintaining a democracy.
Many of their elders are waking up as well. Each day finds a larger and larger group of citizens who reject the activities of ICE. One sees it in demonstrations all over the country, including in our own backyard.
What troubles me, perhaps more than anything else, is the racism and Christian nationalism implicit in all the ICE activities. There is no argument in relationship to criminality. We have a criminal justice system in place all acros the country. It is not always effective but when communities need help they generally seek it.
But criminals should be brought to justice in our communities, not simply arrested and deported to El Salvador or some other country by ICE.
But the ICE operation seeks out not just criminals but people of color or of different religious persuasions. These people are immediately suspect.
I watched a report of one Muslim family being apprehended, apparently after their door was broken down. Some in our community volunteer to give people rides to and from the grocery store, as they are afraid with ICE, they could be apprehended walking along the street because of their color.
Then there are people here legally but not yet citizens. These are people who have put their trust in a system we have established for citizenship. Then they see others seized at the courthouse as they check in, and wonder if they will be next.
I’m convinced most of my fellow Americans have left their personal biases behind, in affirming an integrated and inclusive country. We have met the neighbor who comes from a different country and culture, and we have come to appreciate the way they think, or work, or eat, or worship.
I believe most of my fellow Americans reject the notion that we all have to be the same color or political persuasion to be good and useful citizens. We reject the drivers of division who are hell bent on making us adversaries. We reject the violence and terror of the state. We prefer the words of Scripture to the words of the president or his supporters.
“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (1 Peter 4:9) “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (Hebrews 13:2) “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13:2)
Carl Kline of Brookings is a United Church of Christ clergyman and adjunct faculty member at the Mt. Marty College campus in Watertown. He is a founder and on the planning committee of the Brookings Interfaith Council, co-founder of Nonviolent Alternatives, a small not-for-profit that, for 15 years, provided intercultural experiences with Lakota/Dakota people in the Northern Plains and brought conflict resolution and peer mediation programs to schools around the region. He was one of the early participants in the development of Peace Brigades International. Kline can be reached at carl@satyagrahainstitute.org. This column originally appeared in the Brookings Register.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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